President Donald Trump is facing criticism for his red-carpet welcome and public embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Alaska tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson — an event featuring a B-2 stealth bomber and F-35s flyover — though many are more alarmed by what happened next.

The Russian President, a former top KGB foreign intelligence officer — a Soviet spy — was invited into The Beast, the heavily armored limousine that is the official state car of the President of the United States.

“After President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin stood for a brief photo opp, Trump appeared to ask Putin if he would like to ride with him,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “Trump then gestured toward the presidential limousine, ‘The Beast,’ and both proceeded to get inside.”

As Trump and Putin rode off, alone, with no administration officials, no translators, and only Secret Service agents, critics and experts were aghast over the brewing national security and counterintelligence crisis.

Calling it an “appalling…White House decision to invite Putin into the beast,” Ian Mellul, a former Biden White House Director of Presidential Production, wrote: “Giving Putin a 1-1 in the beast, off the record. No interpreters. No transcript. No witnesses. The beast will have to be swept for bugs and other devices after the summit ends by USSS [U.S. Secret Service].”

Sophia A. Nelson, an award-winning author and journalist, remarked: “Trump just allowed A known Russian KGB spy to get into his car—the Beast. Correction: our car. Smdh.”

“As if this image wasn’t sickening enough,” remarked John Ridge, who writes about national security, foreign policy, and the Ukraine war, pointing to Putin grinning in the back seat of The Beast, “now we are going to need to replace the Beast and tear out most of 11 ABN DIV HQ to decontaminate them of listening devices and other sensors. This is a genuine counterintelligence nightmare.”

One MSNBC commentator called it “extraordinary” that anyone would be invited into the President’s car.

MSNBC: ‘It is extraordinary that any president or prime minister gets into Trump’s car. This is very rare for any allied leader, let alone a former KGB leader’

Did Putin bug ‘The Beast’? pic.twitter.com/zOYssqJI5I

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) August 15, 2025

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Other events on the tarmac were disturbing to some experts, including the image of U.S. Armed Forces on their knees preparing the red carpet for Putin. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, weighed in:

Truly shocking. https://t.co/vWe8wviHlN

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) August 15, 2025

“Clapping for the war criminal,” wrote independent journalist Terry Moran. “What a disgrace to our country’s ideals.”

Clapping for the war criminal. What a disgrace to our country’s ideals.

Trump always shows his true colors around Putin. And he always sells out America and our allies.

I remember when Republican presidents—Ike, Reagan, Bush—always stood up to tyrants. This is pathetic. pic.twitter.com/BOb5uC77jX

— Terry Moran 🇺🇸 (@TerryMoran) August 15, 2025

Former Tea Party Republican congressman turned podcaster and Democrat Joe Walsh wrote: “Disgusting. Despicable. Traitorous. He’s clapping for and smiling at a war criminal, a thuggish dictator who invaded a sovereign nation and killed & destroyed the lives of millions. Disgusting. Despicable. Traitorous.”

Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN, “These are very sensitive stealth aircraft. Everybody on the Russian party is a suspected spy. This whole base is now is now available to them, at least to some extent. I don’t think it should have been held on the base.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Pentagon Ducks Questions on Hegseth’s Support for Christian Nationalist Pastor’s Beliefs

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A federal district court judge initially appeared “skeptical” of the Trump administration’s legal authority to take control of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in a hearing Friday afternoon, which she called just hours after the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration to stop the move.

But just before a break in the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, made clear her goals.

“I want to get to a practical solution because time is short and … there are people who need to know who they are taking direction from and what they are doing,” Reyes said, as CNN reported.

The District called the Trump administration’s order requiring an emergency head of the D.C. Police a “baseless power grab,” according to Politico.

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“We are suing to block the federal government takeover of DC police,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb wrote on social media on Friday morning, calling the administration’s actions “brazenly unlawful.”

“By illegally declaring a takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule DC has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday had issued an order that “sought to have DEA Administrator Terrance Cole take over the DC police and void certain DC laws regarding immigration enforcement,” CNN reported.

Judge Reyes challenged the Trump Department of Justice’s interpretation of the Home Rule Act, which grants Congress some control over the District of Columbia.

“The statute would have no meaning at all if the president could just say we’re taking over your police department,” Judge Reyes said in court, as Politico’s Kyle Cheney reported.

READ MORE: Pentagon Ducks Questions on Hegseth’s Support for Christian Nationalist Pastor’s Beliefs

Judge Reyes also appeared skeptical that Attorney General Pam Bondi could appoint the head of DEA, Terrance Cole, as the head of the Metropolitan Police Force.

“I still do not understand on what basis the president, through the attorney general, through Mr. Cole, can say ‘You police department can’t do anything unless I say you can.’ That cannot be the reading of the statute,” Judge Reyes said, according to Cheney.

In an important concession, the attorney for the Department of Justice admitted that, despite President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, the law only allows for 30-day “emergency” powers control of D.C., unless Congress approves an extension:

“Government attorney acknowledges to Judge Reyes that if Congress does not approve extension beyond 30 days, there’s NO AUTHORITY for the president to extend emergency power re Metropolitan Police beyond the 30 days,” Professor of Law Ryan Goodman noted from the court proceedings.

But at the break, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said the D.C. “lawsuit looks like a serious uphill climb for the DC Attorney General,” because “the law – Section 740 – says the mayor shall provide such services of the Metro PD as the President may deem necessary and appropriate.”

“That is very broad language,” Honig said, as CNN reported. “And what DC is trying to argue is, well, ‘provide such services’ does not mean take over our personnel.’”

It’s unclear if Judge Reyes will return Friday with a resolution.

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The U.S. Department of Defense is on the defensive after outrage erupted over Secretary Pete Hegseth’s repost of a CNN video last week featuring the head of his church — a hardline Christian nationalist pastor who says he wants the nation, and ultimately the world, to be ruled by Christianity. Hegseth’s caption: “All of Christ for All of Life.”

Pastor Doug Wilson, according to a CNN video (below), also believes in a patriarchal society where women submit to their husbands, believes homosexuality is a crime and should be re-criminalized, believes women should not have the right to vote and should not hold certain positions of leadership, and that they should not be in combat roles.

“Women are the kind of people that people come out of,” Wilson unapologetically told CNN, specifying: “it doesn’t take any talent to simply reproduce biologically.”

On Thursday, several reporters grilled Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson (full transcript), who also grew defensive when asked to account for her boss’s beliefs.

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Asked by a reporter, “is it your belief and is it the Secretary’s belief that those women, if they are serving, and women across the United States should have the right to vote?”

Wilson responded angrily, telling the reporter, “of course the Secretary thinks that women should have the right to vote. That’s a stupid question.”

That was just the start of the questioning focused on Secretary Hegseth’s support for Pastor Wilson and his beliefs.

“Well, why did he retweet the pastor who does support taking away that right from women?” the reporter asked.

“The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings,” the press secretary replied.

“Including taking away the right to vote?” the reporter pressed.

“I’ve already answered that question,” was the response.

“So, including taking away the right to vote?” the reporter again pressed. “You have not been clear. I mean, he retweeted her — or him. Why retweet someone that wants to take away the right to vote?”

“I have been correct on that the Secretary supports the 19th Amendment. Next question,” the press secretary insisted.

When asked if Secretary Hegseth is “in disagreement” with Pastor Wilson, the press secretary would only say that Hegseth “appreciates” many of his pastor’s “writings and teachings.”

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“I’m not going to litigate every single aspect of what he may or may not believe in a certain video,” the press secretary declared.

Later, another reporter brought up the Wilson video, this time diving into more of the pastor’s beliefs.

“What was the point of posting that video? I know you said that he respects him, but you mentioned that all of these women are joining the recruitment. What does a video like that, that mentions women submitting to their husbands, what does that say to women service members? Or we should be a Christian nation like Saudi Arabia is a Muslim nation,” the reporter said, grilling the press secretary. “What does that say to Muslim service members or Jewish service members or people who don’t believe? I mean, what message is that sending as the Secretary of Defense reposting something like that? He’s not just a person; he’s a government official now.”

Press Secretary Wilson was not having it.

“So, I reject the premise of the question. I think what he had said, ‘all of God for all of time’ — I think that is a non-controversial statement.”

The grilling grew more intense, with the reporter diving deeper into some of the beliefs revealed by the CNN profile, and the press secretary refusing to discuss them.

“I’m not going to litigate what he may or may not think about real presence in communion. We’re not going to get down to the nitty gritty on all of that stuff, right. But what I can tell you is that he is a Christian. He appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.”

The Daily Beast, reporting on the Pentagon press conference, noted that “Hegseth’s social media promotion of Wilson’s church network, the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches—which Doug Wilson co-founded—came after he railed that the military ‘allowed itself to go woke,’ declaring that generals and admirals ‘involved in any of the DEI woke s— has got to go.'”

The Beast also noted that “high-profile moves have targeted senior women across the services. Last month, Hegseth removed Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, the first woman to lead the U.S. Naval Academy, before the end of her expected term.” Also, “Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield was fired from her NATO billet, and Adm. Linda Fagan—history’s first female service chief—was ousted from the Coast Guard by Homeland Security.”

The crisis created by Hegseth posting the CNN video is not just one of public perception or public relations.

Veterans have told The Guardian, the news outlet reported on Thursday, “that Hegseth’s religiosity – rubbing off in new recruitment ads and official US Department of Defense social media activities – is dividing the ranks and doing untold damage to the future of the US military.”

Watch the video Hegseth reposted below or at this link.

All of Christ for All of Life. https://t.co/QqXhqZFStv

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) August 8, 2025

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